Gar Tongtsen was born into the Gar clan,an important Tibetan family based in modern Maizhokunggar County.
According to Clear Mirror on Royal Genealogy ,Tongtsen was dispatched as envoys to Licchavi Kingdom (in modern Nepal) together with Thonmi Sambhota by the emperor Songtsen Gampo. Amshuverma,who was the ruler of Licchavi,married Princess Bhrikuti to Songtsen Gampo. But the historicity of the princess is not certain because no reference to her has been found among the documents discovered at Dunhuang.
Tongtsen was dispatched to the Tang dynasty together with Dri Seru Gungton and Thonmi Sambhota in 640,requesting a marriage between the Tibetan emperor and a Tang princess. Taizong,the Tang emperor,agreed and married Princess Wencheng to Songtsen Gampo. Taizong appreciated his talent and promoted him to "Right Guard Senior General" (右衛大將軍),but was refused by him.
Later,the Lönchen Khyungpo Pungse invited Songtsen came to visit his fief. Tongtsen was sent there to set up the emperor's camp,but found it was a conspiracy. Tongtsen fled stealthily and told the conspiracy to the emperor. After the death of Pungse,Tongtsen was appointed as Lönchen .
Songtsen Gampo died in 650,and Mangsong Mangtsen succeeded. Tongtsen acted as regent because Mangsong was an infant. During this period,Tongtsen carried out a tax reform in 653,conducted a census in 654,and made the first law of Tibet in 655. Relations between China and Tibet began to sour during this period. Tibet conquered glo po (Ngari) and rcang rgya (Tsang) in 652,and finally 'A-zha (which was called "Tuyunhun" by Chinese people) in 663. Tibet held over the whole of the Tibetan plateau,and tried to seize the Western Regions of Tang China.
Tongtsen left in 'A-zha to defend against Tang China,and was dismissed by Mangsong due to his age. Not long after his successor Omade Lotsen was executed because the "guilty of rebellion",and the position turned back to him. Six years later,he died of neck cancer on his way back to Lhasa.
Gar Tongtsen had five sons,all of them were famous Tibetan generals:
Songtsen Gampo,also Songzan Ganbu,was the 33rd Tibetan king and founder of the Tibetan Empire,and is traditionally credited with the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet,influenced by his Nepali consort Bhrikuti,of Nepal's Licchavi dynasty,as well as with the unification of what had previously been several Tibetan kingdoms. He is also regarded as responsible for the creation of the Tibetan script and therefore the establishment of Classical Tibetan,the language spoken in his region at the time,as the literary language of Tibet.
Tuyuhun,also known as Henan and Azha,was a dynastic monarchy established by the nomadic peoples related to the Xianbei in the Qilian Mountains and upper Yellow River valley,in modern Qinghai,China.
Emperor Taizong of Tang,the second emperor of the Tang dynasty faced challenges throughout his reign from Tang's western neighbor,the state of Tuyuhun,whose Busabuo Khan Murong Fuyun constantly challenged Tang authority in the border regions. In 634,Emperor Taizong launched a major attack,commanded by the major general Li Jing,against Tuyuhun,dealing Tuyuhun forces heavy defeats and causing Murong Fuyun's subordinates to assassinate him in 635. Tuyuhun,thus weakened,no longer remained a major power in the region,and while Tang,ironically,played the role of protector for Murong Fuyun's son,the Gandou Khan Murong Shun,and grandson,the Ledou Khan Murong Nuohebo,Tuyuhun was never able to recover,particularly with its southwestern neighbor,the Tibetan Empire,constantly attacking it. By 672,during the reign of Emperor Taizong's son Emperor Gaozong of Tang,Tang was forced to move Tuyuhun remnants into its own territory,ending Tuyuhun.
The first military conflict between China and Tibet occurred in 638. In the early 7th century,the westward conquests of the Tang dynasty brought it into contact with the rising Tibetan Empire. When Emperor Taizong of Tang refused a marriage alliance,the Tibetan emperor Songtsen Gampo sent an army to attack the Chinese frontier city of Songzhou. After a Tang army inflicted heavy casualties on the Tibetans in a night-time attack,Songtsen Gampo withdrew. He sent emissaries and tributes to Chang'an to apologize,and to again request marriage. Taizong decided to give Songtsen Gampo a distant niece,Princess Wencheng,in marriage. The peace held for the remainder of the reigns of Taizong and Songtsen Gampo,although Tibet would pose major military threats for most of the rest of the Tang period.
Mangsong Mangtsen,Trimang Löntsen or Khri-mang-slon-rtsan succeeded to the Tibetan throne either after the death of his father Gungsong Gungtsen,or of his grandfather the 33rd Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo. He became the 34th king of Tibet's Yarlung Dynasty,and the second king during the Tibetan Empire era.
Tridu Songtsen,Tridu Songtsen or Dusong Mangban,was an emperor of the Tibetan Empire from 676 to 704.
Murong Nuohebo,regnal name Wudiyebaledou Khan (烏地也拔勒豆可汗) or,in short,Ledou Khan (勒豆可汗),Tang dynasty noble title Prince of Qinghai (青海王),was the last khan of the Xianbei-ruled Tuyuhun state. He had become khan in 635 after his grandfather,the Busabo Khan Murong Fuyun and his father,the Gandou Khan Murong Shun,had both been killed in the same year:Murong Fuyun during a Tang invasion and Murong Shun assassinated by his own people in the aftermaths of the Tang conquest. Murong Nuohebo's control over his people was initially tenuous and required Tang military affirmation on at least two occasions,but once his control was firmer,he faced the threat of Tibetan Empire to the south-west. In 663,unable to stand Tibetan pressure,he took his people and requested refuge in Tang territory,and by 672,the Tibetan Empire had taken over all of former Tuyuhun territory. The Tuyuhun people were settled within Tang territory,and Murong Nuohebo was made a Tang prefect. While he continued to carry the title of khan until his death in 688,typically,Tuyuhun was considered destroyed by either 663 or 672.
Gungsong Gungtsen was the only known son of Songtsen Gampo,the first Tibetan Emperor and the Prince of Tibetan Empire in Yarlung Dynasty.
Wang Xiaojie (王孝傑),formally the Duke of Geng (耿國公),was a Chinese military general and politician of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty,serving in campaigns against Tibet,Eastern Turks,and Khitan and briefly serving as chancellor during Wu Zetian's reign. He was killed in 697 in a battle against Khitan's khan Sun Wanrong.
The Tibetan Empire was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau,formed as a result of imperial expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king,Songtsen Gampo,in the 7th century. The empire further expanded under the 38th king,Trisong Detsen,and expanded to its greatest extent under the 41st king,Rapalchen,whose 821–823 treaty was concluded between the Tibetan Empire and the Tang dynasty. This treaty,carved into the Jokhang Pillar,delineated Tibet as being in possession of an area larger than the Tibetan Plateau,stretching east to Chang'an,west beyond modern Afghanistan,and south into modern India and the Bay of Bengal.
Emperor Taizong Receiving the Tibetan Envoy is a painting on silk by Yan Liben to show the friendly encounter between the Tang dynasty and Tibet. The painting is 129 centimetres (51 in) long by 38.5 centimetres (15.2 in) wide. Bunian Tu is in The Palace Museum in Beijing.
Empress Khri ma lod was an empress consort and twice regent of Tibet. She was empress consort by marriage to emperor Mangsong Mangtsen. She was the ruler of the Tibetan empire twice:in 675-689 during the minority of her son emperor Tridu Songtsen,and in 704-712 during the minority of her grandson emperor Gyältsugru. Her title as regent was tsenmo.
Gar Tsenye Dompu was a general of the Tibetan Empire. He was the eldest son of minister Gar Tongtsen Yülsung. In Chinese records,his name was given as Zàn Xīruò.
Gar Trinring Tsendro,also known as Lon Trinling,was a famous general of the Tibetan Empire. He was the second son of minister Gar Tongtsen Yülsung. In Chinese records,his name was given as Lùn Qīnlíng or Qǐzhèng.
Nyang Mangpoje Shangnang was a general of the Tibetan Empire who served as Lönchen during Emperor Songtsen Gampo's reign.
Gar Mangsham Sumnang was a 7th century ce general of the Tibetan Empire. He was active during Namri Songtsen's and Songtsen Gampo's reign.
Omade Lotsen was a general of the Tibetan Empire.
Gar Tsenba,also known as Gar Trintsan Tsangtong,was a general of the Tibetan Empire. He was the third son of minister Gar Tongtsen Yülsung. In Chinese records,his name was given as Lùn Zànpó or Zànpó.
Lun Gongren was a general of China during the Tang dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou dynasty.
Gar Tsenyen Gungton was a general of the Tibetan Empire. He was the fifth son of minister Gar Tongtsen Yulsung. In Chinese records,his name was given as Bólùn Zànrèn or Lùn Zànrèn,both attempted to transliterate the short form of his title and name,Lön Tsenyen.